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Burbank law makes gourmet food trucks move every 15 minutes

February 21, 2011 | 4:26
pm

For some cooks in Burbank, fast food has meant the kitchen moves at least 1,000 feet every 15 minutes.

Burbank law requires food trucks to move at least 1,000 feet to a new spot every quarter-hour. After three hours, they can return to previous parking spots, but only after having made potential customers seek them out at 12 stops.

Gourmet food trucks — which have gained prominence with such fare as sushi burritos, Korean barbecue, French fries and burgers made with grilled cheese sandwiches as buns and stacked with bacon, cheddar, pickles and beer-soaked onions — have inundated special events and the hearts and stomachs of Southlanders in recent years. But they’ve been put on a legal exercise schedule of sorts in Burbank.

“Some are a bit more restrictive, and that presents more of a challenge, but that’s the cost of doing business,” said Michele Grant, chief executive for the Grilled Cheese Truck, which makes frequent stops in Burbank and holds permits to operate in about a dozen cities throughout Los Angeles County.